Old Book of the Martyrs Mirror: 1570s
A Thanksgiving before and after Eating
A THANKSGIVING BEFORE AND AFTER EATING, WHICH MATTHEUS BERNAERTS, CALLED VAN LINCKEN, COMPOSED IN HIS PRISON AND SENT TO HIS CHILDREN
Before eating
O taste and see that the Lord is good, who has created these creatures, and given them to those who believe, to be used by them with thanksgiving, to the praise and glory of His holy name. (Psalm 34, verse 8; First Timothy 4, verse 3). O dearest, most gracious, merciful, eternal Father, do not forget Your poor, miserable children, who are persecuted for Your holy name's sake.
After eating
Let us now praise and thank the Lord, who has so graciously fed us in our bodies. Let us ask the Father to feed us now with the bread of eternal life, so that with our spirits, souls and bodies that have been fed we may do His holy will. O dearest, most gracious, merciful, eternal Father, do not forget Your poor, miserable children, who are persecuted for Your holy name's sake. Amen.
Written by me in my prison.
MATTHEUS BERNAERTS,
called van Lincken.